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Indexed News on:

--the California "Mega-Park" Project

Tracking measurable success on efforts across California to preserve and connect our Parks & Wildlife CorridorsWE POST NEWS THREE WAYS:1. long detailed stories on blogspot (here!)2. short messages on Twitter3. automated news feeds from CA enviro websites in the right-hand column which change frequently and are not archived by our website (that's why we now have a twitter account to permanently capture the memorable feeds)

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Land Preservation and Development Deals in the L. A. and Ventura County Mountains, March to June 2011

(Taken from the agendas for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the MRCA)

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CalTrans Provides Funds to Save North End of Simi Hills, between Rocky Peak Park and Sage Ranch park

FOR MORE INFO: FROM THE MRCA 4/6/11-- authorizing entering into a Caltrans Contribution Agreement, District Agreement No. 07-4903, to receive mitigation funds from the State Route 118 and Rocky Peak Road on and off-ramp project, Santa Susana Mountains, City of Simi Valley. [Staff Report] [Resolution] [Attachment] [Map]

SMMC 5/23/11-- comment letter to the City of Calabasas on the Notice of Preparation for the proposed 77-acre Messenger Development located at 4790 Las Virgenes Road, Malibu Canyon watershed. [Comment Letter] [Resolution] [Attachment] [Map]

SMMC 5/23/11-- transfer of jurisdiction and control from State Coastal Conservancy of APN 4458-009-900, 24038 Malibu Road, City of Malibu. [Map] [Staff Report]

MRCA 6/1/2011-- accepting the assignment of the right to apply for 1992 per parcel funds (8.b.1) from the City of Los Angeles, and approving the filing of an application for designated Proposition A funds for the acquisition of APNs 5576-009-055, 056, 057, 058, 059, 060, 061, 062, 063, and 064, known as the La Rocha Acquisition Project, and entering into a Project Agreement with the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District to acquire said properties. Hollywood Dell area, City of Los Angeles. [Staff Report] [Resolution] [Map 1] [Map 2]

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VERDUGO MOUNTAINS:

SMMC 3/28/11-- acceptance of donation of fee title on and over Canyon Oaks development open space, Verdugo Mountains, City of Los Angeles. [Map] [Staff Report] [Resolution]

MRCA 4/6/11-- authorizing the acceptance of a donation of a portion of APN 2826-026-005 and potentially portions of APNs 2826-026-006 and 014 located west of Interstate 5 in the Newhall Pass, unincorporated Los Angeles County. [Staff Report] [Resolution] [Map]

SMMC 4/25/11-- grant of Proposition 84 funds to the City of Los Angeles for a natural area within the boundaries of Cesar Chavez Recreation Complex in the San Fernando Valley. [Attachment] [Map] [Attachment 2] [Staff Report] [Resolution]

3/17/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $706,000 to the City of Laguna Beach, Orange County, for acquisition of the 7.8-acre Domanskis property adjacent to the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park for open space, public access, and habitat preservation.

3/17/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $240,000 to Save the Redwoods League to complete the acquisition of a 500 acre property commonly known as the “Raiche-McCrory Property” and add it to the Area of Critical Ecological Concern managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management within the area known as “The Cedars” in western Sonoma County.

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5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,445,000 to the City of Santee to acquire 105 acres and design a trail on the Walker Property along the San Diego River, San Diego County, for the purpose of protecting and restoring habitat and providing compatible public access.

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5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $3,000,000, including $500,000 of funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to The Trust for Public Land for acquisition of the 63-acre Ocean Meadows property in Devereux Slough, Santa Barbara County.

5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $3,100,000 to the Solano Land Trust toward acquisition of approximately 1,500 acres of the Rockville Trails Estates property, and preparation of a property management plan.

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5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District for the acquisition of approximately 540 acres of the 955-acre Owen property in order to expand the Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park in Alameda County.

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5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $750,000 to LandPaths to acquire a remainder interest in the 120-acre Ranchero Mark West property in Sonoma County for the protection of natural resources, public access, and education.

5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $500,000 to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to acquire the 97-acre Silva property for addition to the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve near the town of La Honda in unincorporated San Mateo County.

5/19/2011--Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $315,000 to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust to acquire an approximately 36 acre parcel at the confluence of Martin Slough and Swain Slough in the Elk River watershed in Humboldt County to facilitate the future restoration and enhancement of wetlands, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat on a portion of the property, and the preservation and enhancement of coastal agriculture on the remaining area.

Wheeler Ridge Wildlife Area, $550,000 Expansion 3, Mono County
--grant to Eastern Sierra Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 108± acres located south of the town of Mammoth Lakes and north of the town of Bishop in Mono County.

San Joaquin Fish Hatchery (Hovannisian Property) $28,500 Fresno County
-- acquire a fee title to 0.15± acres of land for future public access to the San Joaquin River Parkway and the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery.

Thousand Palms Conservation Area (Gabison) $705,000 Riverside County
-- acquiring 70± acres of land located west of the City of Thousand Palms

San Diego County MSCP/HCPLA 2009 (Gibson) $885,000 -- to acquire in fee 250± acres located south of Interstate 8 and northwest of Harbison Canyon Road in San Diego County.

Lassen Foothills, Expansion 6 (Gaumer Ranch) $2,545,000 Tehama County
-- a grant to The Nature Conservancy to acquire a conservation easement over 8,455± acres of land for protection of deer and mountain lion habitat, and native oak woodlands, located within the Deer Creek watershed in southeast Tehama County and approximately six miles east of Highway 99.

Sierra Crest Conservation Easement, Phase III $2,420,000 Sierra County
-- a grant to the Truckee Donner Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement over 2,683± acres located approximately 16 miles northwest of the town of Truckee, in close proximity to Webber Lake, in Sierra County.

Eel River Peninsula $8,559,000 Mendocino County
-- a grant to Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to acquire a conservation easement over 8,544± acres of threatened and endangered species habitat, deer range habitat, oak woodlands and old growth forests, wildlife corridors, riparian areas and to provide future wildlife oriented public use opportunities, located east of the town of Willits in Mendocino County.

Baxter Ranch $2,360,242 Sonoma County
--to acquire a conservation easement over 4,046± acres within the Coastal Range, in close proximity to the Lake Sonoma Recreational Area, 10 miles west of the City of Cloverdale, in Sonoma County.

San Joaquin Multi-Species Conservation Plan $1,847,966 (Thomas) Contra Costa County
-- to acquire 1,159± acres in the Diablo range within the City of Pittsburg east of the town of Clayton.

Pillar Point Bluff Complex $3,010,000 San Mateo County
--to acquire in fee 140± acres along the Pacific Ocean immediately to the west of the Half Moon Bay Airport near the town of Half Moon Bay.

Nick Ranch Conservation Easement $2,375,000 San Luis Obispo County
--a grant to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County to acquire a conservation easement over 1,337± acres of land for the protection of rangeland, grazing land and grassland areas, located approximately 20 miles east of the City of San Luis Obispo, near the small rural community of Pozo, within the Salinas River watershed and next to the federally designated Machesna Mountain Wilderness and the Los Padres National Forest, within San Luis Obispo County.

(NOTE: the Usal forest was purchased from the Hawthorne Timber Company
in 2007 by the Redwood Forests Foundation in order to preserve it as a
sustainably logged forest. The funds from the State will help pay off
the loans which were used to buy the land.)

--disburse up to $2,500,000 to The Conservation Fund to acquire the
approximately 464-acre Smith Tract portion of the Ten Mile Ranch,
located adjacent to the Ten Mile River, Mendocino County.

disburse up to $500,000 to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy to acquire and prepare a stewardship plan for 70 acres of the Hollingsworth Ranch property along the Ventura River in unincorporated Ventura County.